meddling nounmeddling adjective
meddlemed‧dle /ˈmedl/ verb [intransitive] 
WORD ORIGINmeddle
Origin:
1200-1300 Old French mesler, medler, from Latin miscere ‘to mix’VERB TABLE
meddle
| Simple Form | ||
| Present | I, you, we, they | meddle |
| he, she, it | meddles | |
| Past | I, you, he, she, it, we, they | meddled |
| Present perfect | I, you, we, they | have meddled |
| he, she, it | has meddled | |
| Past perfect | I, you, he, she, it, we, they | had meddled |
| Future | I, you, he, she, it, we, they | will meddle |
| Future perfect | I, you, he, she, it, we, they | will have meddled |
| Continuous Form | ||
| Present | I | am meddling |
| he, she, it | is meddling | |
| you, we, they | are meddling | |
| Past | I, he, she, it | was meddling |
| you, we, they | were meddling | |
| Present perfect | I, you, we, they | have been meddling |
| he, she, it | has been meddling | |
| Past perfect | I, you, he, she, it, we, they | had been meddling |
| Future | I, you, he, she, it, we, they | will be meddling |
| Future perfect | I, you, he, she, it, we, they | will have been meddling |
EXAMPLES FROM OTHER DICTIONARIES
- Church leaders shouldn't meddle in politics.
- Most of us don't know our neighbors well enough to meddle with their lives.
- But to see, to meddle, to intrude, that was Lionel all over.
- Nobody helped anybody, nobody meddled.
- Of course we should not endlessly meddle and interfere with the electricity industry in Northern Ireland.
- Or a man who meddled in the black arts?
- Since the mid-1990s, the censors have meddled a great deal more.
- To them, she appeared an interfering busybody, a pushy incomer meddling with their heritage.
THESAURUS
to try to get involved in a situation where you are not wanted or needed: · She tried not to interfere in her children’s lives.· It’s not your problem, so don’t interfere.
to interfere in someone else’s affairs in a way that is annoying for them. Meddle is more informal than interfere, and has more of a feeling of being annoyed: · I did not want my parents meddling in my private affairs.· He warned diplomats against meddling in Indonesia’s affairs.
to interfere by being somewhere where you are not wanted, or getting involved in a situation that is private – used especially when saying that you want to avoid doing this: · Sorry, I didn’t mean to intrude while you were on the phone.· When someone dies, people are often worried about intruding.
informal to interfere by trying to become involved in a private situation or conversation that does not concern you: · Stop butting in, will you!· I didn’t want to give them any advice in case they thought I was butting in.
to try to find out what someone else is doing in their private life, by asking questions or secretly checking what they are doing, in a way that seems annoying or rude: · Journalists like to pry into the lives of the rich and famous.· I didn’t mean to pry – I just wanted to know if I could help.
informal to ask questions about someone else’s private life or give them advice they do not want, in a way that annoys them: · She’s one of those people who’s always poking her nose into other people’s business.
Longman Language Activatorto interfere to try to influence a situation that you should not be involved in, for example by telling someone what to do or giving them advice that they do not want: · I'm sorry. I didn't mean to interfere, but I didn't want Glenda to be upset.· The protestors were peaceful, and the police decided not to interfere.interfere in: · She has no right to interfere in her son's marriage.· The US was accused of interfering in China's internal affairs.
to interfere in a situation that you do not understand or know enough about, and that someone else is responsible for dealing with: meddle in: · Church leaders shouldn't meddle in politics.meddle with: · Most of us don't know our neighbors well enough to meddle with their lives.
informal to ask questions about someone else's private life and give them advice they do not want, in a way that annoys them: · No one wants the government sticking its nose into the personal affairs of citizens.· She's one of these people who is always poking her nose into other people's business.
British informal /butt in American informal to give your opinion or advice to someone when they do not want it, because it is a private situation: · I don't want your dad over here sticking his oar in.
to become involved in someone's private affairs when you know you have no right to be involved - use this especially when saying that you want to avoid doing this: · I don't want to intrude, but are you all right?· Sorry, I didn't mean to intrude. I didn't realize you were on the phone.intrude on: · It's very important not to intrude on the family's grief, whilst still helping with the funeral arrangements.intrude into: · Companies should not have the right to intrude into employees' personal lives by giving them psychological tests.
COLLOCATIONS FROM THE ENTRY
He accused the US of meddling in China’s internal affairs.COLLOCATIONS FROM OTHER ENTRIES
1to deliberately try to influence or change a situation that does not concern you, or that you do not understand SYN interferemeddle in He accused the US of meddling in China’s internal affairs.· He warned the army against interfering in politics.
COLLOCATIONS FROM THE CORPUSNOUN· And if you didn't insist on meddling in large affairs that affect the globe, you would actually be charming.· Gelbard in turn was accused by the government of meddling in national affairs.· A country's strategic geographical position might invite super-power attention and meddling in its internal affairs.
I don’t like other people meddling in the way I run this prison. He accused the US of meddling in China’s internal affairs.meddle with I’m not the sort of newspaper owner who meddles with editorial policy.2 British English to touch something which you should not touch, especially in a careless way that might break itmeddle with You have no right to come in here meddling with my things.—meddler noun [countable]—meddling noun [uncountable]—meddling adjective [only before noun]: meddling politiciansmeddling nounmeddling adjective
meddlemed‧dle /ˈmedl/ verb [intransitive] WORD ORIGINmeddle
Origin:
1200-1300 Old French mesler, medler, from Latin miscere ‘to mix’VERB TABLE
meddle
| Simple Form | ||
| Present | I, you, we, they | meddle |
| he, she, it | meddles | |
| Past | I, you, he, she, it, we, they | meddled |
| Present perfect | I, you, we, they | have meddled |
| he, she, it | has meddled | |
| Past perfect | I, you, he, she, it, we, they | had meddled |
| Future | I, you, he, she, it, we, they | will meddle |
| Future perfect | I, you, he, she, it, we, they | will have meddled |
| Continuous Form | ||
| Present | I | am meddling |
| he, she, it | is meddling | |
| you, we, they | are meddling | |
| Past | I, he, she, it | was meddling |
| you, we, they | were meddling | |
| Present perfect | I, you, we, they | have been meddling |
| he, she, it | has been meddling | |
| Past perfect | I, you, he, she, it, we, they | had been meddling |
| Future | I, you, he, she, it, we, they | will be meddling |
| Future perfect | I, you, he, she, it, we, they | will have been meddling |
EXAMPLES FROM OTHER DICTIONARIES
- Church leaders shouldn't meddle in politics.
- Most of us don't know our neighbors well enough to meddle with their lives.
- But to see, to meddle, to intrude, that was Lionel all over.
- Nobody helped anybody, nobody meddled.
- Of course we should not endlessly meddle and interfere with the electricity industry in Northern Ireland.
- Or a man who meddled in the black arts?
- Since the mid-1990s, the censors have meddled a great deal more.
- To them, she appeared an interfering busybody, a pushy incomer meddling with their heritage.
THESAURUS
to try to get involved in a situation where you are not wanted or needed: · She tried not to interfere in her children’s lives.· It’s not your problem, so don’t interfere.
to interfere in someone else’s affairs in a way that is annoying for them. Meddle is more informal than interfere, and has more of a feeling of being annoyed: · I did not want my parents meddling in my private affairs.· He warned diplomats against meddling in Indonesia’s affairs.
to interfere by being somewhere where you are not wanted, or getting involved in a situation that is private – used especially when saying that you want to avoid doing this: · Sorry, I didn’t mean to intrude while you were on the phone.· When someone dies, people are often worried about intruding.
informal to interfere by trying to become involved in a private situation or conversation that does not concern you: · Stop butting in, will you!· I didn’t want to give them any advice in case they thought I was butting in.
to try to find out what someone else is doing in their private life, by asking questions or secretly checking what they are doing, in a way that seems annoying or rude: · Journalists like to pry into the lives of the rich and famous.· I didn’t mean to pry – I just wanted to know if I could help.
informal to ask questions about someone else’s private life or give them advice they do not want, in a way that annoys them: · She’s one of those people who’s always poking her nose into other people’s business.
Longman Language Activatorto interfere to try to influence a situation that you should not be involved in, for example by telling someone what to do or giving them advice that they do not want: · I'm sorry. I didn't mean to interfere, but I didn't want Glenda to be upset.· The protestors were peaceful, and the police decided not to interfere.interfere in: · She has no right to interfere in her son's marriage.· The US was accused of interfering in China's internal affairs.
to interfere in a situation that you do not understand or know enough about, and that someone else is responsible for dealing with: meddle in: · Church leaders shouldn't meddle in politics.meddle with: · Most of us don't know our neighbors well enough to meddle with their lives.
informal to ask questions about someone else's private life and give them advice they do not want, in a way that annoys them: · No one wants the government sticking its nose into the personal affairs of citizens.· She's one of these people who is always poking her nose into other people's business.
British informal /butt in American informal to give your opinion or advice to someone when they do not want it, because it is a private situation: · I don't want your dad over here sticking his oar in.
to become involved in someone's private affairs when you know you have no right to be involved - use this especially when saying that you want to avoid doing this: · I don't want to intrude, but are you all right?· Sorry, I didn't mean to intrude. I didn't realize you were on the phone.intrude on: · It's very important not to intrude on the family's grief, whilst still helping with the funeral arrangements.intrude into: · Companies should not have the right to intrude into employees' personal lives by giving them psychological tests.
COLLOCATIONS FROM THE ENTRY He accused the US of meddling in China’s internal affairs.COLLOCATIONS FROM OTHER ENTRIES
1to deliberately try to influence or change a situation that does not concern you, or that you do not understand SYN interferemeddle in He accused the US of meddling in China’s internal affairs.· He warned the army against interfering in politics.
COLLOCATIONS FROM THE CORPUSNOUN· And if you didn't insist on meddling in large affairs that affect the globe, you would actually be charming.· Gelbard in turn was accused by the government of meddling in national affairs.· A country's strategic geographical position might invite super-power attention and meddling in its internal affairs.
I don’t like other people meddling in the way I run this prison. He accused the US of meddling in China’s internal affairs.meddle with I’m not the sort of newspaper owner who meddles with editorial policy.2 British English to touch something which you should not touch, especially in a careless way that might break itmeddle with You have no right to come in here meddling with my things.—meddler noun [countable]—meddling noun [uncountable]—meddling adjective [only before noun]: meddling politicians